Making maps of the planet is truly a challenging thing. In essence we are creating a flat surface interpretation of a sphere. Thus, distortions are bound to occur.
This lesson's purpose is for you to develop an understanding of the reasons for these distortions and what the results might be because of them.

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Go to the link THE GLOBE UNWRAPPED. Spend a few minutes (no more than five) looking at the sphere as a flat surface from the perspective of the various continents. After completing the above, watch this debate between Mercator and Peters about their respective maps. Watch The Chat Show

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Mercator's Map

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Peters' Map



VERSUS